Here’s a new tenor ukulele with some new fun Koa. Ric wanted blue, blue and more blue on this instrument, so I’m calling it the Blue Makau Tenor Ukulele.

The Blue Makau Tenor Ukulele

I think you get the picture. Not only did I put blue paua abalone purfling on the top of the instrument but also on the sides. In addition, I used blue fiber to accent all bindings, fretboard, backstrap and bridge.

Curly, wavy, quilty, wiggly Koa Wood

The headstock, fret board and heal makau shaped inlays are cut out of blue paua abalone as well.

Blue Makau fret board inlay in Blue Paua Abalone

For the neck, I opted for a solid African Wenge with a curly Koa center strip lamination. Wenge is a pretty heavy wood, but I tried to keep the bulk down in the neck and it didn’t feel top heavy in my hands. Really tough to shape though. The accent wood is Asian Satin Wood burl.

Asian Satin Wood Burl

The figure and colors in this Koa are really amazing. The curl and figure change constantly depending on which angle you’re looking at.

Black, white, spalt, curly Koa

For the record: Ma’kau is the correct spelling (Judd, Pukui and Stokes–Hawaiian-English Vocabulary) and is defined as “fishhook”. It should be noted that the word Makau means “to be ready”. I’m guessing that over the years the correct spelling and pronunciation of this word, as with other Hawaiian words, has been modified.